Motivation letter form

Motivation letter form should follow the structure of the formal business letter, implying that your address and contacts come under your name, in the upper right corner of the page. Bellow, on the left, write the name, function, organization and contacts of the person you are writing to.

When you know the name of the person who is going to read your letter, you should address the letter directly to him/her. If you do not know the name and contact address the letter to Admission officer / or HR. Under the receiver’s address, write the date of the day when you are writing the motivational letter.

If you do know the name of the recruiter, start with Dear Mr / Ms / Mrs / Dr, without the full stop that you might expect to follow the abbreviation, and the surname of this person, followed by comma (Dear Mr Jones,). In this case, you should end the letter with the salutation Yours sincerely.

If you do not know the name, start with Dear Sirs, or Dear Sir or Madam and close with Yours faithfully. In the US business correspondence, Yours truly is acceptable in both cases. Do not start the body of the mail with a capital letter, since it follows a comma.

In a best case, a motivational letter has no more than 4 paragraphs. The goal of the first one is to specify what you are applying for and how did you heard about that vacancy. The last one indicates your availability for an interview, suggesting in this way a concrete follow-up for your application.

The second paragraph should list your qualifications. Read carefully the Call, identify the requirements and see how your professional profile matches. Use examples to prove that you possess skills and other knowledge needed for the position. In the best case, you should start from your experience and show how you have developed those qualifications by doing what you have been doing or studying. Same as in the case of your resume, the result should portrait you as a creative, independent person with initiative and ability to deal with responsibilities, apart from the specific skills needed for the job. Briefly, the second paragraph should show why you are good for the job.

The third paragraph should point out why you want this job. You should state your interest for the skills you are going to learn if you get the job. You should leave the impression that you can make a genuine contribution to the company’s operations, while simultaneously deriving satisfaction from your work.

After the 4th paragraph leave a blank line, same as you should do in the beginning, after the salutation (Dear). Write the proper closing, as described above and your name. Do not forget to leave a blank space between the closing and your name personal signature.

Motivation letter form and structure is not the only thing that matters when writing motivation letter. Make sure that you have answered with you letter on the following questions:

Have you clearly stated the reasons/motives for you application?

Have you made clear connection between your qualifications and requirements?

Have you provided examples that prove you are suitable candidate for the position?

Last, but not least before submitting the letter, make sure to check that your letter does not contain errors or typos. Also make sure you have listed all the attachments and that you have enclosed all the documents being required with the Call.